Until Next Time
by SinfulSanctuary
Summary: [The mini-series version.] The hand on my heart clenched painfully. I stiffened and gritted my teeth. My eyes stung and I couldn't breathe. I was there. I had reached the point where it hurt so bad I didn't know how to live for one more second. War. We do what we can to find comfort and hope.
1. Room 9, Hog's Head Inn

**Room 9, Hog's Head Inn**

_New acquaintances, new truths and a new war._

* * *

"May I have a word?"

I was off in my own little world, and started at the request. Especially since it came so close to my ear and the voice was so deep it felt like it vibrated inside my skull. Snapping around, I saw the dark skinned man from... What was it? The Auror office? Carlton Shackles, wasn't that his name?

"Of course," I said politely, and gestured with my hand into my office.

It wasn't really _my_ office, but it was empty at the moment. Darla was home sick, Gregory had time off, and Heston, Paula and Walter had gone to lunch. The room was small, and worked more or less like just a storage area for all the papers and files that was being worked on and not ready to be archived. All of us preferred to work in the larger room next to the office, which was really supposed to be a reception area. I couldn't for the life of me understand why _we_ needed a reception area.

The tall dark man followed me inside, and I frowned when he closed the door and cast a spell on it. Then took my hand in greeting. "Long time, no see," he said in a friendly manner. "We meet under dire circumstances again."

I was confused. There was something familiar with him, but I couldn't place him, and certainly not a way that warranted the friendliness he showed me. He must have seen my confusion, because he hurried to explain.

"I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt, from the Auror Office. We worked together briefly after Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban."

It took a split second for it to come back to me. As an Azkaban Security Official I worked with the Auror Office, but I didn't really bother to remember every Auror who passed through our own office. They didn't want to get to know me or my colleagues, so I didn't bother getting to know them.

But it was true, I had worked with Kingsley Shacklebolt after the embarrassing escape of Sirius Black. He had been in charge of tracking him down and recapturing him, and I had been the one investigating how he could have escaped and the one Shacklebolt reported to. Black was still at large, but the investigations were over, and the Aurors only relied on the occasional tip from witnesses.

I nodded to signal that I remembered. "Dire circumstances?"

"It's possible you haven't been informed yet, though I suspect you would never have been informed anyway. There have been a very unexpected and tragic ending to the Triwizard Tournament. It is a long story, but this is not the place or the time to go through it." He glanced around the room, as if he expected an audience to be listening in. "Let's just say for now, that your help and skills may be needed in a grave matter. I would like to explain this to you more thoroughly, but we should do that somewhere else, somewhere more private."

"What can be more private than here?"

"The walls may have both eyes and ears, and this is a delicate matter."

I was baffled, and – truth be told – wary of this man.

"I understand that I sound very cryptic. But from previous experience, you seem like a level headed, fair, and capable person. You are familiar with Azkaban, and may be a great asset to this cause. If you are willing to hear me out, we can meet later today. I have an address written down here." He showed me a small folded piece of parchment. "If you do not show up, I will not bother you about this again. Read the time and place, burn the parchment, and speak of this to no one."

I stared at him. He had seemed very down to earth last time I spoke to him, but now he seemed a bit addled in the brain.

"This has something to do with the Triwizard Tournament?"

Shacklebolt nodded. "That, and the future of the Wizarding World."

"I will think about it," I said.

"That is all I can ask for now." He seemed immensely relieved. "Take this. Memorise and burn. Speak to no one." He handed me the parchment and was out the door before I had time to blink.

_Room 9, Hog's Head Inn, Hogsmeade._

_9 o' clock._

Hog's Head was my kind of place. Not that I liked it very much, but it was the kind of place people with my kind of job were expected to hang out in.

There weren't much traffic there that evening, being Monday and a warm summer evening. I scanned the small crowd, but did not see Shacklebolt. I didn't really expect too, as I was asked to meet him in one of the Inn's rooms.

I had weighed back and forth all day about whether or not I should show up. When three of my colleagues came back from lunch, they informed me that they had heard whispers of a death at the Triwizard Tournament, and that the Minister and the headmaster of Hogwarts weren't seeing eye to eye about something concerning this.

The latter sounded very strange to me and was the second reason I decided to meet Shacklebolt. The first was that he had said I was familiar with Azkaban and that may make me a great asset. For the protection of Azkaban and my interest in keeping control of the prisoners and the Dementors and everything else concerning the prison, I wanted to know what he needed me for. He could ask me to compromise the security there, and I was not going to do that.

Room 9. I knocked gently on the door.

"Enter," a deep voice came from within.

I opened the door and stepped inside. It was just as dark and grimy as the pub. A single bed with grey covers stood in one corner. A desk stood against one wall, and a table with three chairs against another wall. Kingsley Shacklebolt occupied one chair, and – to my great astonishment – Albus Dumbledore sat in the other.

"Good evening," Dumbledore said, smiling faintly, a twinkle in his eyes. He gestured for the third chair.

Feeling a growing anticipation, I closed the door and joined them around the table. "Good evening," I said and crossed my legs, nodding at each of them in turn.

"You are very curious as to why have been asked to come here, am I right?" He gazed at me over his half moon spectacles.

"I am. Shacklebolt was very cryptic."

"I am sorry about that. But the situation is very delicate, and becoming more so with every day," Shacklebolt said. "I am grateful you decided to come."

"I will be honest with you," I warned. "I only came because one of my sole interests in life is to maintain the highest possible security at Azkaban. What you said," I inclined my head to the dark man, "about my familiarity with Azkaban being an asset to you, caused me to want to know more. If you are wanting me to give you inside information that may compromise the security there, I will make sure the Auror Office are one Auror short quicker than you can say 'oops'." I said this calmly and with a straight face, looking right into Shacklebolt's eyes, meaning every word.

Dumbledore chuckled. "You have chosen wisely, Kingsley! She will be of great help to us, if she chooses to join."

I snapped my head towards my former Headmaster, and glared. When it came to my job at Azkaban, not even the powerful Dumbledore would keep me from my duties, and I had no regrets by glaring at or threaten him or his friends.

"Your obviously fierce protection of Azkaban is exactly what we need. We have no intentions of compromising the prison, in fact, one of our greatest interests are making sure it stays safe and well warded. Albus, if you would explain our situation."

Internally, I shook my head in confusion. I was intrigued, but understood nothing. Though they would most certainly not know this.

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes turned instantly serious. "Voldemort has returned."

My reaction to this, I could not hide. The name itself made me gasp, but the two words following had me letting out a frightened sound between a scream and a moan. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The old man closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "Lord Voldemort has returned, very much alive," he then repeated, eyes opening and conveying the truth in them.

I opened and closed my mouth several times, I uncrossed my legs and crossed them again. Finally I found my voice. "I'm not sure I believe you. Please explain."

"The circumstances around his return are very complicated and links together many situations. What set this in motion, was the escape of Sirius Black."

"_I knew it!_" I hissed furiously.

"No no, Black is not involved in the way you believe." Dumbledore waved his hands to emphasise the point. "I think it best if I can explain everything to you first, and then any questions or comments you have can be addressed when I am finished. Is that alright with you?"

Though he asked politely, I understood it to be an order. So I nodded.

"Sirius Black did not commit the crime he was sentenced for. Peter Pettigrew framed Black and feigned his own death. Black found out where Pettigrew was, and escaped to – as he himself said – commit the crime he was sentenced for. For the sake of hindering more escapes from Azkaban, I wish to inform you of how Black escaped, but that is not the most important thing you need to know tonight.

"Pettigrew got away, and followed a lead to Albania, where rumour had it Lord Voldemort lay in hiding. Pettigrew helped his master regain a sort of physical form and while biding their time, they came across Bertha Jorkins."

I opened my mouth wide in shock, understanding coming to me at once. I had heard about Jorkins' disappearance.

Dumbledore nodded at my reaction. "They learned about the Triwizard Tournament being held again and they learned that Barty Crouch Jr was not dead and living in hiding in his father's house."

At that I couldn't help myself. "That's impossible! He died in his cell shortly after he was imprisoned!"

"His mother died in his cell. She was already dying and they traded places with the help of Polyjuice Potion." I was about to speak again, but Dumbledore held up his hand to silence me. "Pettigrew and Voldemort travelled back to England, and made plans to put Crouch at Hogwarts. Alastor Moody had been hired as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and the day before he was to start, they kidnapped him and Crouch traded places with him. For a whole year, Crouch has taken Polyjuice Potion. For a whole year, he has kept Alastor trapped in his own travelling trunk. For a whole year, I am sad to say he deceived us all. Even I, who should have known him better.

"Crouch tricked the Goblet of Fire to accept two champions from Hogwarts. Thus making sure Harry Potter was magically bound to compete or suffer the consequences. He guided the boy through, making sure Harry did well and would win. Crouch made a Portkey out of the trophy in the last task, and cursed and schemed to make sure Harry would be the first to touch it."

Now, Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Harry being the good person he was, beat Cedric Diggory with a small margin, but offered to share the victory. Both touched the trophy and was transported to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. Waiting for them, was Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort. Diggory was murdered, and Harry was used in a most foul way to help restore Voldemort to his full body and power."

Dumbledore seemed to have some difficulty continuing. I never thought I would see the day when the headmaster of Hogwarts had to blink away tears. But now, he did, and swallowed slowly. "Harry fought for his life, and managed just barely to escape with Diggory's body.

"Now, Fudge does not believe Harry, or me, when we say that Voldemort has returned. The Minister is turning a blind eye to the gruesome reality we find ourselves in and I have found the need to reassemble The Order of the Phoenix."

It seemed that was the end of the story, because a deafening silence followed. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want this to be true. But one just didn't joke about something like this. I had to make sure. "You are certain about this? You-know-who is back? Truly?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"You are on office duty this week?" Shacklebolt asked.

"I am."

"When will your Azkaban station start?"

"I will be patrolling there next Monday."

"I am sure you will see a great change in the Dementors," Shacklebolt explained. "They are like Voldemort, and they will sense his return. He will try to recruit them, and that's where you come in."

"Many of the Order members that fought in the last war have joined us again. But sadly, many of them are dead. As the Ministry is refusing to see the truth, we have to do everything we can to work against Voldemort and his Death Eaters," Dumbledore said. "Kingsley here is a new member, and I asked him if he knew of anyone at the Ministry who would be able to see the truth and help us in this monumental task.

"Your position as an Azkaban Security Official can help us make sure no one escapes Azkaban and you can help us understand the Dementors. You can be our eyes and ears at Azkaban where many of Voldemort's Death Eaters are. We offer nothing in the means of safety. Working with us will be dangerous. What you do must be kept secret. You will be working against our very Ministry. But we are fighting. We are fighting in a war that may well kill us all. We must do everything we can to end this."

"I will join you," I said with absolute certainty and without hesitation.

"You will be given time to think this through," Dumbledore kept explaining. "I do not expect you to make your decision tonight. But I must –"

"I will join you," I interrupted him.

"You are certain of this? You do not need time to consider?"

"No. I– The Minister–" I wasn't sure how to explain myself. Instead, I kept it simple. "I believe you and will fight."

A smile broke out on Dumbledore's face, his eyes twinkling again. "Thank you. I must press on the importance of secrecy. The Minister will not be kind to anyone who works with the Order or are revealed as being on 'my' side. And it is imperative that Voldemort does not know how hard we are fighting against him. Because the Ministry does not believe he has returned, I believe he will lie low and work in the background. The less the Ministry knows and Voldemort knows about our work, the more good we are able to do."

"I understand, Professor."

"Please, call me Albus. We are after all colleagues from now on."

I nodded. "Albus."

"We have our next meeting on July 1st. The location of our headquarters are written on this." He held out a piece of parchment. "The house has been put under the Fidelius Charm, and I am the Secret Keeper. Read the address and memorise it."

My hands trembled slightly with excitement and nerves as I accepted the parchment. It seemed ceremonial to me, the way he gave it to me.

_The headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix can be found at 12 Grimmauld Place, London._

To make sure I would remember it, I read it through at least ten times. Then I closed my eyes and fixed the sentence in my mind's eye. When I opened my eyes, Dumbledore – Albus – looked expectantly at me. I gave the parchment back, and started when it burst into flames the moment it landed in his hand.

"We will see you on July 1st at six then?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, I should get back to Hogwarts." Albus stood up and held out his hand. I stood too, and shook it. "I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise."

"Kingsley."

Shacklebolt nodded gravely, and Albus swept out the door.

I should go too, but I sat down again and felt the weight of all the new information hold me down. Sirius Black was framed. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back. Barty Crouch Jr and Sirius Black had managed to escape from the most secure prison in the world. I shook my head at this. It would be the first thing I had to do – make sure we tighten the security. Any more escapes would be the absolute worst that could happen.

"A lot to take in?"

I had forgotten Shacklebolt was there.

"I was approached by Arthur Weasley just three days ago, and I am still struggling to wrap my head around it all."

"I understood there was still more to be explained?"

"Yes. Albus said you needed to know about how Crouch and Black escaped. You should also know what exactly happened when Black was framed. And there are many details about Pettigrew – who is also known as Wormtail – and how he helped Voldemort come back. You should be informed of it all, and you will. But it is late. Everything will be explained in full at the meeting this weekend. It is our first meeting, and you're not the only one who will need to understand all the details."

"But I should start working on adding to the wards and protections at Azkaban right away!"

"You can still do that, even though you don't know how they escaped. Just do it subtly."

"Can't you tell me how they escaped? You were in charge of finding Black."

"I haven't been told myself yet."

This irritated me. But he was right, I could still start working on it.

"Very well then. I will see you on Saturday."

"Goodbye and good night." Shacklebolt stood and offered his hand. I shook it and left the Auror in the dingy room.

I slept poorly that night. Impatience to get started kept my mind busy and my dreams full of diagrams of complicated wards and protection spells.

* * *

_Authors Note_

_This is the mini-series version of the one-shot Until Next Time. It will be dark, angsty and hot, be warned._

_I don't know how often I will update this yet. I have about 7 instalments (including this) more or less ready for posting, and large portions of drafts that haven't been properly edited and placed on a timeline._

_But I will post it regularly until I'm ready to start posting the revised version of Lunar Phases Part 1. I've set a date for that in my calendar, but I won't tell anyone, in case I can't make that deadline. Until then, review and enjoy this journey into my unknown OCs psyche :)_


	2. Meeting

**Meeting**

_Do not knock. Your wand will let you in._

* * *

A house appeared right in front of me. Grimmauld Place numbers eleven and thirteen slid noisily to the side, to make room for number twelve. It hadn't been easy finding this place, and I had spent the entire morning scouring a map of London. Geography had never been my strong suite, and I refused to ask anyone. Not that I could anyway, seeing as the place was under the Fidelius Charm, and I was not Secret Keeper.

When I had finally found the street in the map, I had spent the next couple of hours pacing my living room, and now my feet were aching.

I stepped up to the house and tapped my wand on the door. It slipped open and I walked inside. A note had appeared on my desk at work the previous day, with a simple instruction.

_Do not knock. Your wand will let you in._

I had barely had time to read it before it vanished, but I understood it well enough.

The sound of many voices met me as I closed the door. I took in the hallway. It was dark, dusty and depressing, and it smelled of being in desperate need of a good airing out. What kind of house was this?

"Hello there!" a voice greeted me cheerily, but very quiet. It belonged to a plump older woman with flaming red hair and a kind face.

"Hello," I said, holding out my hand.

"I'm Molly Weasley," she whispered, shaking my hand with both of hers. "Welcome to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. I must ask you to be very quiet out here in the halls and in the stairs. Any noise and the portrait of Mrs Black wakes."

"What?"

"The portrait of Mrs Black. She doesn't like us being in her house." Mrs Weasley guided me across the hall and towards a staircase.

"Black? This is the Blacks' home?"

"It is. Sirius offered it to us as headquarters. It needs tidying up, definitely. Then I think it will be quite a cosy home."

I found that highly doubtful, from the impression I had gotten out in the hall. As I was ushered into what looked like the kitchen, my doubts didn't lessen. It was cavernous, with a large fireplace at one end, a long table in the middle, and cupboards lining the walls. Every surface was dusty and worn and it smelled of mouldy food.

"Welcome to my humble abode," said a sarcastic voice upon my entry.

I turned to the voice, and saw none other than the infamous Sirius Black. My instinct was to whip out my wand, stun, gag and bind him, and bring him back to Azkaban. Just barely, I managed to restrain myself. Instead, I walked over to him, held out my hand and presented myself.

"The Azkaban Security Official?" he asked with a dark chuckle. "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble."

"You and I will have to talk about that," I said sternly. "I will _not_ have it happening again."

"As you wish." He made a bow, and I had the distinct feeling that he wasn't taking me seriously at all.

When Black moved out of my way, I saw several other people around the table. I held out my hand to each of them, some I had never met before, some I vaguely recognised and some I remembered hearing about upon learning their name.

Bill Weasley. Dedalus Diggle. Remus Lupin. Nymphadora Tonks. Elphias Doge. Arthur Weasley.

The conversation flowed loosely between the members around the table, obviously knowing each other to some extent already. I felt a bit out of place, not really having had much to do with any of them before. Doge I remembered having met during a trial in the Wizengamot once. I had been at school with Tonks – though she was several years below me. Lupin had to be the werewolf that had been outed in the Prophet a year earlier.

More people arrived, Shacklebolt, Albus, Minerva McGonagall, Mundungus Fletcher, Alastor Moody, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore.

I had expected many more, but Albus stood up to start the meeting the moment Podmore found his seat.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I have asked you all to come here to fight Lord Voldemort," he started abruptly, causing many fearful gasps to break out.

"We are a few members missing this evening, but they are out on Order duty already. There's Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He is keeping watch at Hogwarts, seeing as Minerva and myself are here. He is also preparing for a journey through Europe with Beauxbaton's Olympe Maxime to visit with the giants. Severus Snape is re-establishing his place among Voldemort's followers, spying for us. Charlie Weasley is abroad and doing what he can to spread the word about Voldemort's return and acquiring allies on the continent. Arabella Figg is Harry Potter's next door neighbour and is on his guard tonight as soon as he returns to Surrey."

"And some of you may be curious as to the presence of a few here today."

Albus explained fully the deception that had led to Black's imprisonment, the way he had escaped and what he had proceeded to do afterwards to make justice happen. Unfortunately, that hadn't worked out, and instead ended up being one of the pieces in the puzzle that led to the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We were then explained the details surrounding Barty Crouch Jr and how he helped bring about Harry Potter's 'victory' in the Triwizard Tournament.

I couldn't help but drift off to think about Black's and Crouch's escape from Azkaban. Both had been very simple, and showed a huge lapse in security that needed to be addressed immediately. There was nothing I loathed more than criminals getting away or trying to compromise the supposed safest prison in the world.

Of course, Black was innocent, but he shouldn't have been able to escape.

When Albus wound down his explanation of everything, he sat down and invited anyone with questions to ask them.

A stunned silence followed, everyone taking in what they just learned. Slowly, Hestia Jones raised her hand and spoke. "Exactly what sort of accident does the Ministry think caused Diggory's death?"

"Cornelius has never said. Either they can't make up an accident that sounds plausible, or they simply won't."

Jones shook her head as Elphias Doge asked for the details of the Ministry's handling of Barty Crouch Jr. This took a while, and after it seemed like there were no more questions.

"We should get down to the issue at hand here," Albus went on. "We are a motley crew of werewolves, escaped criminals, Magical Law Enforcement workers, Aurors, teachers, bankers and many more. We all have our speciality field, and I hope that together we can bring down the greatest evil our world has seen in centuries. We are all allies here, and we help and support each other in this matter. Leave any personal issues behind, and let us move forward.

"There are two things we need to resolve first and foremost. The most pressing matter – be the first to get in touch with any allies Lord Voldemort will try to recruit for himself. There are the giants, werewolves, vampires, and there is also a possibility he will want goblins on his side. As I said earlier, Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime is already making preparations to persuade the giants to support us, or at least be neutral. They are both half-giants and are in an excellent position to deal with their kin.

"When it comes to the werewolves, I doubt we can persuade them to join our side. The werewolves living in packs around the country are too estranged from our society to see any benefit to join anyone else than Voldemort. However," he turned his eyes on Remus Lupin, "Remus, you know this community better than any of us. I would like you to assess the temperature in the werewolf camps, and report back to us, so we can see how to best move on with that situation."

"Of course, Albus," Lupin said, his voice surprisingly hoarse.

"The vampires are not likely to join any side, as they like to keep to their covens. But Voldemort will try and we must keep an eye on them, and at the slightest sign that they are moving towards the dark side, we must take action.

"Bill, we talked before the meeting, and you feel confident that Voldemort won't be able to gain the trust of the goblins?"

Bill Weasley nodded and addressed the room. "Goblins doesn't set much stake in humans. They see our conflicts as pointless and the only side they are willing to take are with the gold. The goblins at Gringotts doesn't care if you're a Death Eater, the Minister himself, or a child in the streets. They protect their gold and their treasures. But there are deviants everywhere, and I will try my best to find them."

"Now, the Dementors." Albus looked gravely at me. "We must expect to lose control over them. You have not been on the island since Voldemort's return?"

"I managed to visit yesterday," I said. "And they are already restless, or... I would say excited is a better word, if a Dementor could ever feel such an emotion. All the prisoners are aware of You-Know-Who's return too. Of course, the Death Eaters have their burning mark, but they are campaigning to the other prisoners. Those that haven't lost their mind yet."

"Nothing more than can be expected." Albus nodded.

"I have already begun working on how we should further secure the prison," I continued. "Subtly, for now. But I expect my colleagues will understand that something very wrong has happened – they aren't stupid. And now that I know the truths behind our only two escapes, I will make sure it doesn't happen again. Though, if someone – Merlin forbid – should be wrongly accused, we should hope the Wizengamot will take care of that. No prisoner will escape again as long as I am there, guilty or not."

"We all appreciate your commitment, but do not make promises you cannot keep. Now, our second issue revolves around the moving of Harry Potter. For reasons that shall remain secret for now, he must return to Privet Drive." Albus glanced quickly at the pocket watch he had procured from somewhere in his robes. "In fact, he should be arriving home just about now. Arabella Figg is taking the first shift, but as she is a Squib, she will have reinforcements as soon as the meeting is over. I don't expect Voldemort or the Death Eaters will turn up in Privet Drive, but we have to be on the safe side.

"At one point during the summer, we will retrieve Harry and take him here. This requires careful and delicate planning."

Moving Harry Potter wasn't a topic we stayed on for very long, as it was getting late and his guard needed to get to work. We would revisit that at the next meeting. Albus called it to an end, and announced the next date and time.

"I wish I could have made something to eat for you all," Mrs Weasley said apologetically as chairs scraped and cloaks were donned. "Next time, when this place is cleaned up, I'll have a warm meal for you all."

"That will be very appreciated, Molly," Albus said, and took the red headed witch's hand and kissed it gallantly. She blushed, and hurried off to begin clearing out the cupboards for cleaning.

Those that were on guard duty left quickly, but the rest took their time and didn't really seem to want to leave, despite the depressing location. Not knowing these people, I felt a little uncomfortable, so I discreetly made my way out. I felt eyes on me as I left, but I ignored them. Out in the hall, Albus approached me. "How soon do you believe you can start work on the wards on Azkaban?" He was casual in saying it, but I sensed an urgency behind his calm demeanour.

"Monday morning," I said firmly. "Like I said earlier, my colleagues are not stupid. I talked to Walter – uh, he's my partner – when I got back to the office yesterday, explained that I saw there. He's quite anxious to get out there and see for himself. We're all attuned to the Dementors. Everyone will understand soon enough."

Someone came up the stairs and stopped at the sight of us. I glanced behind Albus and saw the werewolf there. The headmaster turned too. "Ah, Remus, excellent." He inclined his head towards me.

Remus lifted his lips in a half smile as he approached us.

"I was just talking to our new friend here about the new wards she intend to rise at Azkaban. I was about to offer my help should she need it. With your expertise, Remus, I think you could help as well."

I frowned at them. I didn't need help. I didn't need anyone telling me how to best secure my prison.

Albus seemed to notice my annoyance. "Remus here was the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts a year ago."

"I know," I interjected sharply.

"He is well versed in defensive magic. I am well versed in... Well, magic." His eyes sparked in humour, but I only raised my eyebrow. "I know you're capable, but if you should ever need an extra hand – an outsider's point of view perhaps – any one of us can help. Isn't that right, Remus?"

"Of course." Remus nodded his agreement, looking a little puzzled, but determined nonetheless.

I ground my teeth and stared at my former headmaster for a moment. "Thank you," I gave in eventually. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have two nights and one day left to myself before three weeks in Azkaban."

* * *

_Authors Note_

_The second chapter/one-shot/whatever-you-want-to-call it. I just thought I'd warn people now, some of these chapters are going to be very explicit. I will censor it to fit the TOS here, so if you're interested in reading the uncensored version of those chapters, send me a PM, and I will give you the link to it._

_Oh, and the main character in this story is never going to be named and her looks are never going to be described in detail, as I want the reader to imagine her any way they want. I've read stories like that before, and they seem so much more intimate and seem to draw the reader in that much more for some reason, so I'm experimenting with that and hoping it does the same for you._

_Review? :)_

_Until next time._


	3. Restless

**Restless**

_Usually, a rather harmless word._

* * *

Restless was the only word I could find to describe it. Never had that ordinary and rather harmless word inspired so much fear in me. But fear wasn't a feeling I should have. Being afraid meant either giving up everything I had, or losing my soul.

Neither was an option for me.

I had worked hard and sacrificed a lot to be where I was. This job was the only thing I had going for me, the only thing I found myself suitable for. Professor McGonagall had tried to get me interested in different jobs during career advice, highlighting my skills and the subjects I excelled in, but nothing interested me. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. I liked keeping to myself, had few friends at school – those that I had were more like acquaintances. When I one day in seventh year learned about this job, I knew it was my only option. So here I was, as one of those in charge of the most dangerous people and creatures in the world, a world preparing for war.

I sat in my office chair, looking out over the railing and down through level after level of cells, filled with murderers, thieves and all kinds of criminals. The Dementors glided past the cells, their dirty robes flowing gracefully around them as if they moved through water. I never figured out why that was, but I guess it added to the creepiness.

Most of the prisoners shrank away in horror as the ghastly guards passed them. Only the fiercest Death Eaters were unaffected.

Voldemort was alive. Azkaban had had two breakouts in its history – one of them in the past two years. The Dementors were slipping through our fingers. If we didn't secure the prison enough to work without Dementors, we might as well open the doors and save everyone the hassle of breaking out themselves.

Nearly three weeks had passed since I learned about what happened at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. For nearly three weeks I had seen the slow change in the Dementors' behaviour. For nearly three weeks, my terror had grown from being almost non-existent, to very _very_ real.

_Restless._ There was no other word for it.

I looked over at Walter, my partner. He had his face inches over a parchment, sketching away at a new level in the wards. He noticed me looking, and lifted his head. Despite the seriousness of the situation and the place we were in, I had to laugh at the black smears on his nose.

"What?" he asked.

I shook my head and pointed to my own nose. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe, but it only made it worse. "Don't bother," I said. "At the rate you're going, your face will be covered in ink at the end of the day anyway. Done with the sketches yet?" I was itching for the new wards to be ready.

"The second level is done soon. But take a look here." He stood up and walked around the desk to my side, brining the parchments with him. "This line here, representing the third level of runes. I'm afraid it might interfere with the second level of runes that tie together with the organic wards that are already in place."

I gazed at the line he mentioned, cross checking with a parchment that was full of runes. "You mean the use of _lagu_?"

"Yes. We've set up _odal_ in a way that will make the fifth level inherit properties from all the levels above, and the sea is such a large part of the organic wards around here, that I'm afraid that water itself might cause... corrosion in both the old and new wards, and maybe even the physical structure of the building. Every droplet of rain might create holes in the wards. Easy to break through." His eyes were large, to emphasise his point. I saw that the whites of them were bloodshot from the hard work we'd put in on the wards every day these last few weeks.

"Huh," I said and looked closer. "I think you might be right. Who set up the _odal_ in this way?"

"Didn't Paula calculate the heritage of each level last week?"

"Go find her," I ordered, and Walter was out of the office before I had time to blink. While he was out, I stared at the drawings and the lists of runes.

There were runes already in the wards, but we wanted to add several new layers to them. There were also all kinds of spell wards, organic wards, and even blood wards. All of them needed to be strengthened and added to. We had to make Azkaban work as if the Dementors weren't there to suck the hope and fight out of the prisoners.

"What's wrong?" Paula was suddenly standing in the doorway, an anxious looking Walter behind her.

I began explaining what Walter and I had done, and then let Walter explain what he had discovered in the layers. Paula's eyes widened as he explained, and when he was done, she bent over the parchments. She leafed through them, setting her finger here and there, muttering. She did this for several minutes, before she put both hands in her hair and screwed her eyes shut. I recognised this as her mind being overloaded.

Paula breathed, and pulled out the parchment with the drawings. "_Lagu_ is Old English, and _lögr_ is Old Norse," she thought out loud, one hand moving across the drawing of the wards, the other deep in her hair. "That's sea and waterfall... Of course that would cause problems... Because the two aren't distinguished good enough!" she finished as a conclusion. "I'm sorry." She looked up at Walter and me. "I should have seen this. Thank Merlin you did before we tested it. I'll stay here today to fix it and recalculate."

"You can't do that alone!" I said. "If we're going to get the second level done this week, I'm staying to help."

"Me too," Walter said.

"Let's get to work then!" Paula said enthusiastically.

The three of us worked long into the night, the summer sun setting outside, clouds gathering and rain occasionally falling on the windows. Being at Azkaban at night was quite an experience. Only our offices were fixed with lights, so as to add to the fear we wanted the prisoners to wallow in. This exact spot in the North Sea was highly vulnerable to storms – raging winds, flashes of lightening right outside the walls, thunder rolling through your very bone marrow, rain that stung against a cold face no matter how warm the summer was.

We had all learned to not be affected by it, while some people might find thunderstorms frightening, it didn't even phase us. But for some reason I felt very relieved when I landed my broom on the Apparition Station outside the wards and Apparated home.

I was worried about the growing fear and the consequences that could follow. This wasn't my first war, but I had been so young last time, that I hadn't fully understood the ramifications. I did now, and had to swallow down a lump of cold fear before I managed to get any sleep that night, despite my body being exhausted. But dreams plagued me – dreams of me falling into the ocean and drowning. It took forever for me to actually drown and all around me in the water I saw elegantly floating robes and heard restless feet.

* * *

_Authors Note_

_This took a bit longer than planned, but here it is. It's a bit short as well, but I expect you'll survive that. It's basically just to show a bit of the work at Azkaban and how things are changing there._

_Notice the banner I've got? Isn't it amazing? It's so bone chillingly amazing!_

_BTW, June 6th was my 6th year anniversary as a Trusted Author over at HPFF!_

_Review? :)_

_Until next time._


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